Good evening ladies and gentlemen. Our prosperity as a nation hangs by a thread. What built this country—and our allies—into economic powerhouses was production. We abandoned that path some time ago, for false idols. The bull of Wall Street and the lady of Threadneedle Street have reaped their terrible harvest. And what are we left with? Anaemic growth. A multi-polar world. And a lost sense of purpose.

But we stand at the dawning of a new age. Software and intelligence will upend the very fabric of traditional white-collar work. Nations that lack the productive base to buttress this revolution will fail. And the supply chains of the West are crumbling. For too long, manufacturing has been seen as something done by others, somewhere far off, for our benefit. That mindset must change, for if we do not find a way, no one will.

At Isembard, we are building a new kind of enterprise—an enterprise of will. The will to forge our own path. The will to build, despite those who say it costs too much, takes too long, or simply cannot be done. The long list of defunct designs and abandoned ambitions are written in rust. We will not join them.

We are building a software and intelligence-first manufacturing business, to accelerate production for critical industries. Our team is small, but as the saying goes: from small acorns, mighty oaks. This is our first factory. In time, there will be thousands more like it—across the UK, Europe, and North America. What will make that possible? People, like you. Whether you are a customer, a supplier, an investor, or even just about to join Isembard, I have one message for you. There will be no other business like us. We will bring together the greatest minds in engineering, operations, finance, talent, sales, marketing, design and, yes, even lawyers will be allowed to join.

So, when people you meet after today talk of failure, of reasons why we cannot build, of why we as a country or society can no longer do great things, when people talk of pessimism and decline—tell them, about Isembard.

Our prosperity as a nation does, indeed, hang by a thread. But we, here, will weave that thread into a mighty tapestry— that will blaze across the stars. Thank you for coming today. Welcome to the Isembard factory. Our machine is ready. Our tools are set. Production, will now, begin!”